Crystal Palace silenced as history repeats itself

The three minutes after Jason Puncheon had given Palace their lead as blissful but all too briefReuters

Half a Premier League table stretched between these two clubs by the end of the league season. If the difference between fifth, where United finished, and 15th, Palace’s underwhelming settling-place after a campaign that had begun promising more, might not be much in business terms — United didn’t make the Champions League; Palace kept enough of a cushion above relegation — you could sure measure the distinction in decibels yesterday evening. When the underdog roared, it was raucous.

The singing once the FA Cup final’s outsiders took the lead was noisy, too, although Palace fans will remember those three minutes after Jason Puncheon had given them their lead as blissful but all too brief. They barely had time to wonder if Puncheon — a player who…

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